Recommended Posts

That seems really expensive - insurance of $1,000 for a $10,000 holiday? Surely you could get annual cover for less than that?

I am curious on what what an annual plan in the UK covers, approximate premiums and how if any of your regular UK medical coverage works outside of the country. Here is a summary of typical annual options that I am aware of in the US.

You can get good annual travel medical and medical evacuation coverage for a reasonable amount in most states. One of the best plans costs $440 per year for two people ages 51-66. $250K of medical and $500K evacuation. It requires you to have a regular health insurance plan at home. There are other options too. Some regular US health insurance plans will include coverage outside of the USA, but many of those plans do not offer medical evacuation.

There are not that many comprehensive annual travel insurance plans, and they come with limitations. Two of the most popular ones offer much less medical coverage than the ones above. One has an annual maximum of $50K per person in medical and the other offers NO medical benefits. Neither one offers more than $15K per person annually in Trip Cancellation or Trip Interruption benefits. For two people in their early 60s, the one with $50K medical and $15K Cancel/Interrupt costs $1420/year for two people. The one with $10K Cancel/Interrupt and no medical is $1150.

There are also some credit cards that include insurance coverage in their annual fee. These have even more restrictions, but can be a great deal for some. They will not pay anything due to a "pre-existing condition" and they offer minimal medical benefits.

1

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Our annual travel insurance policy covers me and my wife up to a maximum of £15 million ($20 million) each. I reckon that should cover most eventualities! However, I do have to pay the first £100 of any claim!

0

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

3-10% wow that's expensive compared to UK. Last time I bought insurance separately, my wife and I paid less that £80 for annual worldwide cover. It's expensive to travel to the US apparently and for us Brits usually carries a premium excess. I now have travel insurance through the bank, along with a few other bits.

Everything associated with insurance and health care in the U.S. is expensive!

0

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Anytime I'm leaving the country I insure the trip in order to have medical and evacuation cover. What I don't do is insure every single dime of the trip. I don't insure things that can easily be cancelled without penalty. I don't insure things that I don't have to spend money on until I actually receive the service (meals, taxi's, tips, etc.) I do insure plane tickets, cruise fares, and Air BnB or other accommodation with very restrictive cancellation policies.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Once when I had to use our trip insurance, the travel insurance desk secured the jet ambulance from Bonaire to Fort Lauderdale when I had a heart attack while docked in Bonaire.

For those who like to self insure, do you know exactly who to call? Yes there are medi-evac groups to join but I would suspect that like most of us we we choose to buy travel insurance or not and leave it at that.

My wife probably would have been more frantic without the assistance of the "travel desk 1-800 number"